13 votes
Accepted

How to install Firmware 1.10E on an EV3 home/retail edition brick

New answer (2020) The V1.10E firmware is installed using the EV3 Device Manager web page. The instructions are not entirely clear, but if you visit the web page with Chrome (recommended), Safari, Edge,...
David Lechner's user avatar
12 votes
Accepted

Where can one find the documentation for the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor software?

Official Docs Word Blocks The Word Block Descriptions for the block language (Scratch) are under Help & Support in the Settings. Settings are found by clicking on the gear icon on the home page. ...
David Lechner's user avatar
11 votes
Accepted

Old RCX Wires Have Become Grey and Brittle

This is a common issue with the older Lego 9V cables. Lots of sources, including myself, have experienced the same thing - this particular chemistry of insulation ages poorly, no matter how well it's ...
MindS1's user avatar
  • 1,372
11 votes
Accepted

What's the easiest way to build a delta robot using LEGO Mindstorms 51515?

What are the parts used for the [Hirolabo delta robot's] arms and circular base (labelled as parallel links and universal joints) ? Let's see another still from that video: There I see: 2736 ...
IvanSanchez's user avatar
  • 8,539
10 votes
Accepted

Programming Mindstorms on a chromebook

Update Dec 2016 There is now an app for chromebooks on the chrome store: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lego-mindstorms-education/jhnhfnolmcleankdkhfklakpchnccipg?hl=en-US I have used it ...
cyber-monk's user avatar
9 votes

What are some good purist rotacaster / omni wheel designs?

Here's a design I've been using, based on this model by Lambert Varias: It's not a perfect circle, but it is relatively small all things considered: It's pretty simple, but here's a partial ...
Alexander O'Mara's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

How do the Infrared Towers work?

IR Transmitter Tower exist in both USB version as well as Serial cable version. Page 7 of instructions for one of the sets (3804) that was using USB version has following explanation: Transcription: ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 23.1k
9 votes
Accepted

Lego colors that the powered up color sensors can detect

Official Sources The LEGO Shop page for the Color & Distance Sensor (88007) says: Detect 6 colors and objects within 5 to 10 cm range with this robot toy accessory for kids. Since this one is ...
David Lechner's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

List of parts to buy for to "upgrade" existing Mindstorms NXT 1.0 to Mindstorms EV3 set?

I don't know of such a list, but you can find the inventory for the EV3 on Bricklink and other similar sites. However, it would be more economical to buy an entire EV3 set. The 31313 retail set is ...
David Lechner's user avatar
8 votes

LEGO Mindstorms 9797 (NXT Education base set) Software Download

I contacted Lego and they gave me this link for a PC: https://fileshare.corp.lego.com/node_share_links/119233?token=7a9527d5-cd94-491c-88b3-689587eae5ae I don't have the link for a Mac, but you can ...
Anthony's user avatar
  • 81
8 votes

Lego Mindstorms EV3: programming language recommendation

In general, would you recommend switching to a normal programming language (I am quite "fluent" in languages like C/C++, Python and Java) in order to avoid having to use blocks when building more ...
Alexander O'Mara's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

How to load an RCX from a modern system?

Buy a USB to Serial adapter. There are USB IR Towers, but the drivers are only for older version of Windows. A new USB/Serial adapter, on the other hand, should be compatible with Windows 10 (Windows ...
David Lechner's user avatar
8 votes

Lego Mindstorms Ev3 home edition on Mac OS Mojave bug - bricks sometimes go blank

I contacted Lego support and they got back to me with a fix, which worked great. It also has greatly improved the performance of the application. For this issue fix, please install Mono for Mac OS ...
Peter's user avatar
  • 251
8 votes
Accepted

What are some good purist rotacaster / omni wheel designs?

I have copied a design by Isogawa Yoshihito I prefer it over the Lambert Varias design as the wheels are positioned more radially More pictures in this EuroBricks thread: https://www.eurobricks.com/...
Michael Verschaeve's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

Is it possible to re-flash the LEGO Spike Prime Hub with Mindstorms Robot Inventor Hub Firmware while retaining all functionality? And if so, how?

Yes, this is possible. Just connect the SPIKE Prime hub to the MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor App. The app will tell you that the firmware needs to be updated. Follow the instructions in the app to update ...
David Lechner's user avatar
7 votes

How can a Mindstorms robot lift something very heavy?

Pulleys and gears With a range of pulleys and gears you can build something capable of lifting as much as 100 kilos with LEGO parts, albeit at the risk of putting enormous amounts of stress on the ...
Ambo100's user avatar
  • 17.6k
7 votes

Does LEGO no longer support NXT 2.0 at all?

LEGO officially stopped supporting NXT in 2015, however, as of 2019, the original NXT programming software is still available on the official LEGO MINDSTORMS web page. The original NXT programming ...
David Lechner's user avatar
6 votes

EV3 Ultrasonic Sensor block is not availible in the Home Edition software

You can download the Ultrasonic sensor block (and Gyro sensor too) from the official MINDSTORMS website. Look for "Ultrasonic Sensor Block" near the bottom of the downloads page.
David Lechner's user avatar
6 votes

What is the use of a single ultrasonic signal?

I'm not an EV3 expert, but my understanding is that continuous mode stores results into a buffer that can be read nearly instantly. Single mode will need to wait to hear a ping back before reporting ...
jncraton's user avatar
  • 40.3k
6 votes
Accepted

Missing parts in a Lego Mindstorms box

If you have a brand new set, and a few parts are missing, you should definitely contact LEGO Customer Service, so they can send you the parts you are missing. New sets with missing parts We’re really ...
Alexander O'Mara's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Is the LEGO Mindstorms Education (not Home, not Scratch based) Edition for Mac OS gone?

It looks like LEGO have indeed completely pulled the previous version. According to the announcement last year (emphasis added): Mac Catalina Issues […] We have therefore decided to replace the ...
Zhaph - Ben Duguid's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Where do I find the program to go with the LEGO 51515?

The "App" page does seem to be hard to find at the moment. I found it by clicking on this little icon on the MINDSTORMS "About" page. The app is distributed through various app ...
David Lechner's user avatar
6 votes

Robot Inventor 51515 - PIN request when connecting via Bluetooth

I removed the brick using Windows Bluetooth panel. Then once again readded the device using Lego software. And this time it did not ask me for the Bluetooth PIN.
matcheek's user avatar
  • 231
6 votes
Accepted

Any build instructions for vertical Technic/Lego conveyor belts?

You're in luck! Jason at JK BrickWorks has put his instructions online. There are others I've used; I'll hunt for those links, too. He's made multiple Ideas sets, so this might be how Lego officially ...
RSchulz's user avatar
  • 7,512
5 votes

Export LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Lab Code

Recently in the scope of a pet project I have put effort into finding a way for systematic decoding of the rbf file to EV3G compatible high level blocks buildin upon David Lechner's disassembly work. ...
Attila Farago's user avatar
5 votes

LEGO Mindstorms EV3 crashes on OS X El Capitan

Check if you have Silverlight plugin on your mac: Access your hard drive Double-click the hard drive icon on your desktop Find the plugin Navigate to your Internet Plug-Ins directory: /Library/...
woz's user avatar
  • 51
5 votes
Accepted

Does the Mindstorms EV3 software work on macOS Sierra?

I have a Mac Mini with macOS Sierra, and the LEGO software works on it for me.
krypticbit's user avatar
5 votes

Recreating Mindstorms TRACK3R test track

Luckily I still kept the original packaging so I managed to open up the sleeve and take a picture. The best photo I managed to take had some inconsistent lighting due to the flash and room lighting ...
Ambo100's user avatar
  • 17.6k
5 votes

LEGO Mindstorms 9797 (NXT Education base set) Software Download

As of 2021, the retail version of the NXT software is still available for download from the official LEGO MINDSTORMS download page (near the bottom of the page). The Education version of the software ...
David Lechner's user avatar
5 votes

Spik3r wheels move but the spik3r itself doesn't

You just need to flip the small motor the other way!
Torinator Productions's user avatar

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